I couldn't fit three forward facing child seats across the second-row as the Fortuner slopes in toward the top of the car, making it too narrow to get three child seats with padded head protection across the width. I did, however, find that a combination of two forward-facing and one rear-facing child seat fitted.
Also, when three child seats are installed, I found I needed to remove two of them in order to access the third-row seats.
The third-row seats fold up to the sides of the boot and give a nice big space for fitting prams, shopping and dogs!
From empty and only using five seats, the boot would hold seventeen shopping bags, which is the same as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, five less than the Nissan Patrol, one less than the Ford Everest and the same as the Haval H9.
All sizes of pram and stroller fitted when using five seats AND when using all seven seats, which is really good and I could get some shopping bags in there too.
Storage inside the cabin is good too, especially as the Fortuner can boast four front cup holders! Two of these pop out of either end of the dash and another two are in the front central console. The second row has two in the central seat fold-down armrest and there are storage wells on either side in the third row too.
There are also air vents in the ceiling for both the rear rows which is a great BabyDrive feature.
The media system in the Toyota Fortuner does feel outdated. The system is relatively easy to navigate because it is quite basic and it doesn't have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The interior of the model I tested had red and black contrast upholstery and was quite nice for a car of this price. That said, I did find some plastic panels felt a bit cheap in feel and there are a lot of buttons across the dash and central console that in very modern cars are now operated through a screen within the media system.
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How good is the storage in the Toyota Fortuner? Which prams and strollers will fit in the boot of the Toyota Fortuner?
The Toyota Fortuner has a nice big central console box. The base is lined so keys etc won't rattle around and the lid doubles as your armrest.

There are two cup holders in front of the gear lever; they will hold my new re-usable Luxey Cup and a disposable coffee cup fit nicely in them too.

In front of those is a little space I found for popping my phone into and there are USB, AUX and 12V sockets above it.

There is a sunglasses holder in the ceiling that is nicely lined so your lenses don't get scratched and both front visors have lit vanity mirrors.

On the dash there are two more cup holders, one at either end of the dash board that can be popped out, these were great for holding my new re-usable Luxey Cup and a disposable coffee cup fitted in them too.

There are two glove boxes, one in the regular position and another generous one above it in the dashboard.

The iPad fitted nicely with my wallet in the lower one and you would easily get a purse and phone in the top one.
The door bins in the front are a good size; they would hold my large re-fillable water bottle and an iPad.

In the back, storage continues to be good. There are map pockets on the back of both front seats which will hold but not conceal an iPad and there are little fold-out bag hooks too, which I found really useful for putting my daughter's daycare bag onto and her lunch bag so they didn't roll around the footwell.
There is also a little storage well in the back of the central console storage box along with a 12V socket and a three prong plug socket too.

The door bins are just as good in the second-row, they will hold a large re-fillable water bottle and iPad.

In the central seat back there is a fold down armrest which has two cup holders that pop out of the end. They are a bit trickier to use than a solid cup holder and I can imagine them getting broken over time by enthusiastic kids!! A disposable coffee cup and my new re-usable Luxey Cup coffee cup fitted in them well.

In the third-row, there are storage wells on either side.

They are both big areas and a large refillable water bottle fits on both sides and rattles around.

The boot of the Toyota Fortuner is very large when you are only using five seats and the third-row seats are folded up to the sides of the boot. There is a rubber mat you can put over the boot floor to cover the metal bars in the floor that the seats connect into. There is plenty of room for a large dog and you could do an emergency nappy change on that rubber mat!!

When using five-seats the boot would hold seventeen shopping bags, that is the same as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, five less than the Nissan Patrol, one less than the Ford Everest and the same as the Haval H9.

The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fits with eight shopping bags.

The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fits with ten shopping bags.

The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fits with ten shopping bags.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fits with three shopping bags.

When using all seven seats the boot space is still very good and six shopping bags fit across it.

A Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fits with two shopping bags.

The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fits precariously balanced without any shopping bags.

The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fits with two shopping bags.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fits with three shopping bags.

Or you might be able to fit a very small dog!

BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the Toyota Fortuner?
I did not find the Toyota Fortuner a particularly beepy or baby-waking car!
The media system in the Toyota Fortuner is outdated; it is very simple though, which I found makes it easy to navigate. The home screen is split half map and half to the other functions, which I like because you can access any of the functions by pressing on it. But I do wish it wasn't so old school!! It doesn't have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto which is a shame.

The reversing camera image is quite pixellated and small for a car of this size.

You can turn the parking sensors off with a button by your right knee.

The Sat-Nav is quite easy to programme and use.

I found I couldn't mute the volume but I could change the verbosity level of the voice deep within the media screen settings.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The indicators in the Toyota Fortuner are not too loud and wouldn’t disturb my sleeping baby.
The windows and doors can both be locked from the driver's door control panel.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
So this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
The cruise controls are on a stalk behind the steering wheel on the right. They are not too difficult to use, however, I found it wasn't accurate on undulating roads at 60km/h and sped away from itself when going down hills.

The Toyota Fortuner is nice tall car to drive which I found enjoyable for the comfort and higher views, although it is a little tractor like and the engine a little noisy. That said, I find this with most big seven-seater off-road vehicles.
There is a seatbelt removal alarm, but only for the first and second rows which is disappointing because you really want to know if those passengers in the third row have taken their seatbelt off because you can't otherwise see them.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the Toyota Fortuner?
There are no top tether anchorages in the third-row seats so I could not install any child seats back there. In the second-row seats, there are top tether anchorages for all three seats. The outer two seats have them right at the very base of the backrest, almost underneath, and are quite difficult to access.

The rear seats have ISOFix points in the two outer seats. They are within plastic guides and they are nice and easy to connect to when installing the child seats.

The central seat anchor point is located in the ceiling centrally between the third-row passengers heads and the seatbelt is also in the ceiling above the third-row passengers' heads, so if you were using both it would be extremely unpleasant for the third-row passengers to have all those straps across their faces.

There are ISOfix points in the two outer second-row seats and although they are not within plastic guides they are relatively easy to connect to.

I could fit a combination of two forward-facing and one rear-facing child seat across the second row of the Toyota Fortuner.

I found three forward-facing child seats wouldn't fit because the Fortuner narrows toward the top of the car, so it is not wide enough at the top to accommodate all those side head protectors! You may get three slimline child seats across forward-facing but would need to test them out.
With three child seats installed, I found you could not access the third-row without removing two child seats! The second-row seats are split 60:40 and to bring that 40% split seat forward you need to remove that child seat and the central one which really isn't practical on a daily basis. Someone I know has one and they use one of the third-row seats and they climb into it through the boot so they do not have to remove the child seats in the second-row.
The doorways are nice and wide and tall so I found no trouble getting bub in and out of child seats forward facing or rear facing. It was fine from inside the car too.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed a bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed. In the model I tested, the seats were upholstered in leather like material that would be quite easy to wipe clean.

BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the Toyota Fortuner? And How good is the Toyota Fortuner to drive?
In the front of the Toyota Fortuner Crusade, the seats are comfortable, they can be heated and are upholstered in a red and black leather like material that is smooth and would be easily wiped clean of child spills and crumbs!

The headrests are not adjustable but I found I could have a ponytail in the front seat.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
There is a glasses case in the ceiling and lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.

There is a light in the ceiling above the front seats for the second-row passengers, that can be reached from the drivers seat. There is also one above the third-row seats too.

I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable at the sides. In the centre, the seat back armrest can be uncomfortable and the central seatbelt comes from the ceiling in the third-row so there are two buckles for that belt which can stick in your bum!

For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The third-row seats are nice and large and comfortable, I found I could travel in the there with a rear-facing child seat in the second-row and I am 162cm.

The steering wheel was adjustable up/down but not in/out, which I find makes it harder for people of different heights to get comfortable.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones and a round one at either end. In the back, there are ceiling mounted air vents in both the second and third rows, which is great for keeping the rear passengers cool during summer. The downside of this design is that they can blow cold air directly onto the face of rear-facing children.

The controls are centrally located on the dashboard and easy to use while driving.

There are handles above both back doors that are well positioned to hang a child's toy.

Visibility out of the Toyota Fortuner's back window is tricky when loaded up with child seats. The side windows are nice and large so you do get quite a good view out of the side with forward facing child seats installed. The reversing camera really helps when manoeuvring and parking.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Toyota Fortuner was relatively easy to park.
Aesthetically the Toyota Fortuner is a big car that looks good for its price and is pretty capable off road too. I wish the child seat installation was better for family use and it more comfortably held three child seats and it would then be a more practical seven seater. The interior detail is good for the price and it has branded carpet floor mats through out too.

BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the Toyota Fortuner?
The Toyota Fortuner was given a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2015, Child Occupant Protection was not tested. It has seven SRS airbags as standard, in the front, the driver and passenger have side and frontal airbags and one for the driver's knee. As well as curtain airbags the length of the car for the front and both rows of rear side passengers. There are seatbelt reminders for the first and second-row seats only.
Scoring a total of 33.95 out of 37. This is broken down into 13.45 out of 16 for the frontal offset test. 16/16 for the side impact test, 2/2 for the pole test. Whiplash protection and pedestrian protection are both rated good.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
Your side panel says 4 star Ancap but the article says 5 –
I just purchased this exact car, it definately has 5 star ancap not 4
Thanks for pointing out this, now changed
Hello, Im back again to say that this is so far turning out to be a really great car. Have done a couple of trips in it and its a great country / hills car. Its quite high which might be a change if you are coming from a sedan. Anyway, thanks for the detailed website.
Glad you’re enjoying it 🙂
Hi I have a 2019 Toyota Fortuner Crusade great car easy to drive and the steering wheel adjustment definitely slides in and out and up and down,I’m 6’1 and my wife is 5’ the car is great for both of us and has electric front seats left and right so she can get some lift in the left hand seat as well. Very happy with it.
Regards Dayle.
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